Watch the Leaves Turn with Season Spotter

The changing of the seasons has a somewhat romanticized connotation (I mean, who doesn’t love cuddling up with some apple cider in the fall, or breaking out their sandals on the first warm day of spring?), but from a biological point of view, the timing of these natural cycles is extremely significant. The study of the timing of seasonal changes in plants is called phenology, and it can tell us a lot about climate change and weather patterns. Ultimately, scientists hope to use data relating to phenology to produce forecasts that would be useful for conservation, tourism, agriculture, and public health.

Though data collection in the field of phenology isn’t too complex (observers simply note the flowering, leafing, and fruiting of trees, shrubs, and plants), in the past it’s been somewhat constrained by the physical and time limitations of researchers–humans can only reach certain locations, at certain times of day, with relative infrequency. Thankfully modern technology has produced cameras that can be placed in a large variety of locations–some rather more remote than research teams could regularly access–and can be programed to take pictures as frequently as needed to see when plants around the world are showing signs of seasonal change.

However, while technology can be harnessed for amazing tasks in the scientific world, sometimes there’s no substitute for a pair of human eyes. But where are researchers supposed to get the manpower needed to sort through and classify the hundreds of thousands of images taken by these cameras? That’s a questions that a team of scientists and educators at Harvard University and at the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) have answered with Season Spotter.

Season Spotter is an extremely simple concept, and very user-friendly. In fact, of all of the citizen science websites and programs I’ve tried out, this may be one of the quickest to get the hang of! You simply choose a challenge to work on (they usually have a few options up, such as the “fall challenge,” running now), and the site offers you a photo of a landscape. There will be a few questions about each picture: “can you see flowers on the shrubs?,” “are there any animals in the photo?,” etc. You answer a few questions about each photo, submit, and that’s that! Then researchers can use the data you submit to classify the photo and study where and when plants are in bloom around the world. You do not have to create an account or log into the site, but it’s encouraged so they can give you credit for your contributions (this also helps program coordinators track who’s using the site, etc.).

You can hop on Season Spotter for five minutes and classify one or two photos, or log on for an hour or two at a time. The simplicity and accessibility of the project makes it a great choice if you’re looking for a way to get involved in some meaningful citizen science, but don’t have a ton of time to devote to training and participation each week. If you’d like more information about the project, or to get in touch with program coordinators, you can find their contact information here.